Dovetail type scope mount



Oct. 15, 1968 R. E. WEATHERBY 3,405,448

DOVETAIL TYPE SCOPE MOUNT Filed May 5, 1965 e I m /Z I, n Q i W Z6 0 A 27 0 v w I i 50' FIG!- 2/ Kai WMMZEI INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,405,448 DOVETAIL TYPE SCOPE MOUNT Roy E. Weatherby, Downey, Calit., assignor t0 Weatherby, Inc. Filed May 3, 1965, Ser. No. 452,818 3 Claims. (Cl. 33-50) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention is an improved mounting for telescopic sights. The mounting is in the form of one or more pillars or brackets preferably integrally secured to the telescopic sight. Each bracket or pillar has a lower part including an integral depending leg or foot part with a lip engageable with one of the grooves on the upper side of the firearm for sightmounting. The bracket on the other side has a similar appearing external configuration. An internal recess is provided just inside of the outer surface of the other side and provided in this recess is a clamping member having a lip at the lower end engageable with the opposite longitudinal groove on the firearm. The clamping member has an opening through it registering with a similar and larger opening in the adjacent depending part of the bracket. An adjusting screw is provided having a head received in the larger opening and having a shank extending through the opening in the clamping member and threaded into a transverse bore in the bracket. Positioned around the shank of the screw is a coil spring positioned in the recess in the bracket and normally urging the clamping member against the head of the screw. Thus, by adjusting the screw the clamping member can be caused to apply adjustable clamping force to clamp the bracket to the elongated grooves on the firearm the screw acting against the force of the spring in the recess.

This invention relates to an improved telescopic sight mounting for firearms, particularly rifles.

Telescopic sights are conventionally removably mounted on a firearm so that they can be taken off for cleaning and other purposes. It is, of course, an essential requirement of removable telescopic sightmounts that they be capable of supporting telescopic sights rigidly with respect to the firearm, and further that when the telescopic sight is removed, it may be remounted in the same identical orientation with respect to the firearm. This is necessary to eliminate any realignment or readjustment of the telescopic sight upon remounting it upon the firearm. Sightmounts which have been available in the prior art have been of relatively complicated construction and expensive to manufacture and, further, and more particularly, have been of a construction requiring considerable effort and manipulation for removal and replacement of the sight.

It is a primary object of this invention to overcome the shortcomings of previously known sightmounts and further and more particularly, to provide an improved and simplified, but extremely effective sightmount which is relatively easy and inexpensive to manufacture. In a preferred form of the invention as described herein, it is of a type having clamping means of dovetail shape adapted to clamp into triangular grooves formed on the firearm. It is a further and more specific object of the invention to provide an improved sightmount having the characteristics described above which is so constructed that it is capable of being mounted on the dovetail grooves by pivotal or rolling movement as well as being slid on in the conventional manner. It is a further object of the invention to provide a construction whereby this purpose can be realized in a very simple but effective way. Further, it is an object of the invention to provide a sightmount as described having a construction that will accept a wide range of male dovetail bases on the firearm.

In a preferred form of the invention, it takes the form of brackets or supporting pillars which are integral with the telescopic sight, and which embody the clamps for clamping onto the dovetail grooves of the rifle. This eliminates the need for additional clamping means for clamping to the telescopic sight itself. The realization of this purpose constitutes another object of the invention.

Further objects and additional advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description and annexed drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a partial side elevational view of a preferred form of the sightmount mounted on a rifle;

FIGURE 2 is a sectional view taken along the line 22 of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 3 is a sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIGURE 2.

In FIGURE 1 of the drawings, numeral designates the breech part of a rifie having a trigger 11 and trigger guard 12. The top part of the breech part of the rifle is configurated to receive a sightmounting bracket as designated at 14 in FIGURE 2. The surface is crowned as shown at 15 and at the sides of the crown are grooves as designated at 17 and 18. These grooves are generally triangular in cross section providing a fiat horizontal surface as shown at 20 in FIGURE 2 and an angular surface 22 at an angle intermediate the vertical and horizontal.

The telescopic sight is designated at 24 and may be any of various conventional types. In the preferred form of the invention as described herein, the telescopic sight is mounted by way of two upright supporting pillars or brackets, one of which is designated at 26. Each bracket comprises a body part 27, the upper part of which, as shown, is configurated to form an arcuate cradle 29 having side parts 30 and 31 to receive the cylindrical telescopic sight. Preferably the pillars are formed integrally with the telescopic sight by being cast therewith. Otherwise they are integrally secured to the body of the telescopic sight by soldering or other suitable means.

On one side of the bracket 26 is a depending integral leg or foot portion 33 forming an inwardly extending lip 34 which is of a shape to be accurately received in the groove 17. That is, the joint formed is of a dovetail type. The inner surface of the lip 34 engages the surface 22 of the groove 34 and the bottom surface of lip 34 may come into engagement with horizontal surface 20 on some rifles, but on many it does not.

The body 27 has a lower surface 36 adjacent to the crown 15. It has a transverse threaded bore 37 and a counterbore 38 and a second counterbore or recess 39. The recess 39 is adjacent to a downwardly extending leg 42 on the other side of the bracket 36, this leg having an openings 43 in it. Within the recess 39 there is provided a latching or clamping member 46 having an opening 47 through it. Threaded into the bore 37 is a screw 49 having a head 50 which fits into the opening 43 in leg 42 of the bracket 26. This screw extends through the opening 47 in the clamping member 46. Numeral 51 designates a coil spring around the shank of the screw 49 and in the counterbore 38 and bearing against the clamping member 46. It normally urges this member against the head 50 of the screw 49.

The latching member 46 is bent inwardly at the lower end as shown at 53, and its end part as designated at 54 is triangular in cross section so as to fit into and be received in the longitudinal groove 18. As can be seen therefore, the lower part 53 of the clamping member 46 forms a clamping lip comparable to the lip 34 which is integral with the bracket 26 at the other side. The clamping member 46 is concealed within the recess 39 inside of the leg 42 with only the head 50 of the screw 49 being exposed.

The bracket 26 clamps to the longitudinal grooves 17 and 18 in the manner shown in FIGURES 2 and 3. FIGURE 2 shows a position in which the screw 49 has been adjusted to tension the spring 51 so that the vertical part of the clamping member 46 is just flush against the inside of the leg 42. As described, the inturned lips 17 and 54 clamp the dovetails, i.e., the longitudinal grooves 17 and 18. The clamping effect or force can be further increased, of coursefby turning up screw 49 and further compressing the spring 51 tending to urge the clamp 46' more tightly against the slating surface of the groove 18. As may be observed, the clamping bracket is one that may be slid onto the dovetail grooves of the firearm lengthwise, or on the other hand, it may be installed by pivoting or rolling action. That is, the bracket 26 may be pivoted or rolled laterally to first release one or the other of the inturned lower lips and then be removed entirely. When installing or removing the bracket, the force exerted by spring 51 may be lessened by screwing out on the screw 49, that is to release some of the force exerted on the clamping bracket 46.

From the foregoing, those skilled in the art will observe that the invention as described herein achieves and realizes all of the objects and advantages as set forth in the foregoing as well as having many additional advantages that are apparent from the detailed description. As shown, the telescopic sight is supported on two of the brackets as described in detail. Each bracket is simplified, but having rugged and inexpensive construction. The clamping member 46 is concealed within the bracket with only the head 50 of the screw being visible so that a pleasing appearance is realized. The adjustment of the clamping force of clamping bracket 46 is extremely simple and yet the capability is realized of being able to remove the bracket in either of the ways described. When reinstalled, the brackets are inexactly the same orientation and position as previously.

The mounting and clamping bracket as disclosed, is one preferably formed integral with the telescopic sight to eliminate the need for a supplementary clamping bracket or clamping means. However, the invention as disclosed herein is adaptable to be constructed or made in forms wherein the supporting pillars are not integral with the telescopic sight but rather the telescopic sight is secured to the pillars by supplementary clamping means.

The foregoing disclosure is representative of a preferred form of the invention and is to be interpreted in an illustrative rather than a limiting sense, the invention to be accorded the full scope of the claims appended thereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A sightmount for sighting telescopes for use with a firearm having a pair of spaced apart longitudinally extending grooves on an upper portion thereof, the sightmount comprising a mounting bracket configurated to support the telescopic sight therein, said bracket having a plate-like part depending from one side thereof and having an integral inturned lip at the lower end thereof configured to be received in one of said grooves said bracket having a similar depending plate-like part on the other side thereof, said bracket having a transverse threaded bore and an enlarged recess inwardly of said similar part, a clamping member in said recess having an opening therethrough and a lower end part configurated to provide a lip to engage the other of said grooves, said similar part having an opening therethrough into said recess, a headed screw extending through said opening and through said opening in said clamping member and threaded into said bore, and a spring positioned to urge said clamping member outwardly against the head of said screw whereby said bracket is releasably retained in engagement with said longitudinal grooves, said clamping member being tiltable in said recess about said screw whereby to be releasable from said groove by tilting said sightmount.

2. A construction as in claim 1 wherein said grooves are of triangular cross section whereby when said clamping lips are in interfitting engagement therewith, the bracket is accurately oriented laterally and vertically.

3. A sight mount as in claim 1 wherein said head of said screw is of substantially the size of the opening in said similar part whereby the clamping member is concealed within the clamping bracket.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,491,431 12/1949 Unertl et al. 33-50 FOREIGN PATENTS 937,659 9/1963 Great Britain.

SAMUEL S. MATTHEWS, Primary Examiner. 

